They believe in the transcendent power of the market. They think technology can save the world, and handouts almost certainly can’t.

But Silicon Valley’s new-tech royalty also have a problem: after getting the yacht, the mansion and — in one case — the sword with stingray leather handle, they still have more money left over than a small European principality.

The solution? Philanthropy, but of a very Californian kind.

This week Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, and Sergey Brin, the Google co-founder, came together to fund the biggest prize in the history of science. With Yuri Milner, a venture capitalist, they are